The Point of Love
by MegaNerdAlert
Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts for an eighth year, to make up for not being there during his seventh. One conversation with Severus Snape will change everything Harry ever thought about the Potions Master.
1. Chapter 1: ReMeeting

**Special thanks** to "dax33", "lilac lavender", "uzumaki misaki", "themrs", "BladeMaxwell-GoddessofDeath", and "sm1982" for thier review for my oneshot, _Point of Love_. In reply to all of the requests that I make it longer, I have taken down what was oraginally up and rearranged it into chapters. More to come!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but my wild and crazy, overthinking brain that has taken JK Rowling's ideas and background, and made a new story with it.

**Chapter One: Re-Meeting**

Harry Potter was shaking nervously outside of the office door of Severus Snape. After Harry had left him for dead in the last battle, gone and viewed some rather personal memories of the professor's, Snape had been visited by Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, and been healed of his otherwise fatal injury.

Harry gripped the piece of parchment in his hand that he had received this morning from Snape, asking him to stop by his office that evening. Harry imagined the lecture he was about to get about how he must never share any of what those memories contained, less his stern image be tarnished. After taking one more deep breath, he opened the door.

Severus Snape was sitting at his desk and looked up at Harry with a nod. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Harry said, forcing his voice not to shake.

Snape nodded and motion for Harry to take a seat. "Mr. Potter, in regard to my memories that you saw most recently..."

Harry held his breath, ready for the onslaught of threats indicating why he would never mention them to anyone, so long as they both lived.

"...there's something about them I wish you to understand more accurately," Snape finished.

"Huh?" Harry said, stunned.

"What did you believe I had summoned you here for, if not to discuss what you saw about me that night?" Snape snapped.

Harry glowered. "To be honest, sir, I was expecting a few curses and that you would make me swear never to share what I saw with anyone. Not elaboration."

Severus looked momentarily hurt, that in itself surprising Harry further. "Harry..."

_Shock again!_ Harry thought. _He's never called me 'Harry' before!_

"...I know I've been horrid to you and your friends over the years, but please try to bear in mind that I acted that way because it was required to maintain my role as a spy. I honestly don't have ill feelings toward you, other that perhaps your dismal potions performances."

It occurred to Harry that, as this was the beginning of his eighth year at Hogwarts, to make up for the lack of a seventh year, he might have to get to know Snape all over again in the coming year. He said nothing in reply to Snape's denial of hating Harry, and after a moment, the professor continued.

"Those memories, regarding my feelings toward your mother, were, well not accurate. I altered them slightly, to make it appear as if I had romantic feelings toward her, because I thought that would be the easiest way for you to understand my devotion to your safety."

Harry shrugged. "Sorry, I wouldn't understand if you did have romantic feelings for her. I don't fancy girls like that at all." Harry had no idea what had caused him to just admit that very personal bit about himself.

Harry looked up, and saw shock on Snape's face, coupled with something else that Harry could not identify. "Do you mean to say that you're gay, Mr. Potter?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't even told Ron and Hermione about that, only Ginny knew. What in the name of Merlin had just made him tell Snape, of all people? "Um, yea," he said slowly. "Only a few people know though. Not even Ron and Hermione."

Snape continued to stare at him, dark eyes boring into Harry. "I should have seen that," Snape finally said. "You must have gone though hell dealing with that on top of everything else."

Harry glared. "What do you care?"

Snape's face returned to his normal glare. "You know, Dumbledore always said that you and I have a lot in common. I never understood him until now. For your information, Mr. Potter, I myself am gay, and therefore, fully understand what that means to a young man, and how difficult it can be. As for 'what do I care', I've always cared about you, more so after you fifth year when we had the Occlumency lessons."

Harry's jaw fell, one shock too many finally collapsed his steady gaze. "You're gay?"

Snape nodded. "As I was about to explain, my love for your mother was not romantic, for that reason among others, but it was deep, because we were very close. She was the first person I came out to, actually."

"You care about me?" Harry whispered, daring to question just what that had meant.

Snape paused. "I care about your well being, Mr. Potter, as I do all my students. Do not read further into that than is necessary."

Harry gulped, mind having already gone where Snape had indicated it should not, and discovered that it was not so repulsed by the idea as he would have thought. On the contrary, if he was really honest with himself. "Yes, sir," he whispered anyway.

"You may go now, Mr. Potter," Snape said suddenly. "I will see you in class."

Severus Snape kicked a chair the moment he could no longer hear Harry's foot falls outside his door. "Just my luck!" he said to no one. Severus cringed, thinking of the last two years of knowing Harry, and caring for Harry, and forcing himself not to think about Harry...that way. _Gods no_, Severus thought, _just because he's gay too does not make him interested, and even if he was, it still made the idea as wrong as it had been two years ago, and last year, and five minutes ago._

When Harry had come to Hogwarts, all Severus has seen in the boy was that – a boy. The offspring of someone he cared for, and someone who was less of a rival than he made them out to be. They couldn't have been rivals, since James Potter was best friends with Severus' first lover, Sirius Black.

They had so much in common, he and Sirius. Both had hard childhoods, both from predominately dark families, both wanted nothing to do with the Dark Lord, and both gay. As teenagers, they'd seen those common bonds as grounds to shag, but neither had realized that love was more than having a few things in common. Shortly after graduating from Hogwarts, they came to the inevitable, bad break-up. Sirius had wanted to get married, and Severus knew that his role as a spy would not allow it, and he knew that he was not interested in being committed to anyone at that point in his life.

Loath as he was to admit it, and he never had admitted it to Sirius, Severus was not sure he'd ever really, truly, loved Sirius. Severus knew what love was, because he loved Lily, and often they joked that had Lily been born a man, they would have gotten together.

As Harry got older, and Severus began spending more time with the young man, he realized that Harry was far more like Lily than he'd ever admit, and that Harry was exactly what he'd been looking for in a partner, all these years – a man who could bring him out of his shell like Lily had. Not too much to ask, Severus had always thought.

And so like a punch in the gut, Severus was reminded that exactly what he wanted was right in front of him, incredibly attractive, gay, and oh so out of bounds. "Damn my luck," Severus whispered.


	2. Chapter 2:  Thinking

**Chapter Two: Thinking**

Harry Potter was still thinking about his conversation with Snape by the next afternoon. Harry had a knack for knowing when people were lying, and there were two lies Severus Snape had made in the course of their conversation. First, when he'd said he was gay - Harry could tell that this was not totally true. Snape obviously had had relations with men, but Harry suspected that perhaps he'd also been with woman, that he was probably bisexual with more of a gay leaning. Not that being bisexual apposed to gay made much of a difference in the scheme of things. Secondly, when Snape had indicated that his caring for Harry was purely teacher and student kind of caring, that had also been a lie.

The second lie did however make a difference in Harry's perception of that conversation. Did Snape care for Harry like a son? Since he had been close to Harry's mother, to Lily? Harry realized that this was probably the case, though in the back of his mind he had already crossed the "_what if he fancies me?_" line. He tried not to dwell on the idea, and decided to test the waters and try and find out exactly what Snape had not been truthful about. If he did look at Harry like a son, that perhaps Harry could find a father figure out of it all, something he'd not had since Sirius had died. If that turned out to be the case, Harry would just have to shut off the other, awkwardly favorable, fantasies forming in his head.

Severus Snape yelped as the potion he was brewing splashed onto his hand. "Shit!" Minerva picked that exact moment to make an enterence into his lab - she would pick a moment of weakness to intrude.

"That looks like it hurt," she commented.

"What do you want?" Severus growled. The potion had splattered because he'd twice added the two cups of water required for the potion and thus overfilled the couldran. He'd done this because he was thinking about something other than his work - thinking about Harry. Distracted by Harry - bloody - Potter.

"Professor Sprout is feeling ill today," Minerva said. "I need you to fill in her shift as lunch monitor today."

"Can't you find someone else?" Severus whined.

"I could," Minerva sighed. "But only if you have a good reason why not."

"I'm in a bad mood," Severus growled, pointing out the obvious.

"You are always in a bad moon, Severus. That's not an excuse, that's merely your usual state of being," she retorted. "Is there at least a good reason for your mood today?"

Severus' shoulders slumped. _Was having thoughts about bending a student over your desk and fucking them senseless a good reason? _"Not that I'm going to share with you, Minerva."

Minerva raised her eyebrows. "Now I'm actually concerned Severus," she said, seeing that he was not telling her something.

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with Ron. He had no idea where Hermione was at, and for the first time in days, Harry found himself relaxed and goofing off with his best mate.

"Hey Ron, remember in first year when you couldn't properly levitate?"

Ron scowled, and pointed his wand at a bowl of pudding. "Wingarium leviosa!" he said, and Harry watched the bowl sour upward, and move toward his head.

Harry pulled his own wand out and pointed to the bowl, muttering the same spell at the same bowl, trying to push it torwards Ron's head. Ron squinted, and a battle of wills began, the two boys trying to control the now shaking bowl of pudding.

"Could you two at least _try_ to act like adults?" a voice sneered.

Both boys, startled by Snape's entrance, lost concentration, and the bowl of pudding crashed down and landed on Ron's head. Harry laughed.

"Potter, you of all people should be able to demonstrate more maturity than this," Snape said.

Harry grinned. "Yes, _dad._"

Harry's grin faded as he saw the change in Severus' face. It was annoyance, and that same damn look that Harry had not been able to identify yet. "I am no one's father," Snape said in an oddly quiet voice. "Least of all yours, Harry Potter."

At that he turned and stalked away, leaving Harry even more confused than he was before. Just what was that look?


	3. Chapter 3: Pleasure and Pain

**Chapter Three: Pleasure and Pain**

It was Christmas break, and like so many years, Harry had remained at Hogwarts. He ordinarily would have spent it with the Weasley's, but for some reason he wanted to remain at Hogwarts this year. He would drop by later, but would not be spending the entire holiday with them. He needed time to think, granted, he'd been thinking about it for three months.

Not many people had remained this year, just a few students, no one in his year or Ginny's year, and even some of the teachers were gone. Severus Snape was still there, as was the Headmistress, and one or two other teachers. _Severus,_ Harry thought to himself, mentally kicking himself for his recent habit of thinking of his Professor on a first name basis.

After their conversation at the beginning of the year, Harry had gotten hint after hint that Severus' comment about caring for him was more than he'd admitted. At first, Harry had assumed it was more of a paternal caring, because of how close Severus had been to Harry's mother, but when Harry had jokingly said "Okay, dad!" when Severus had reprimanded him one afternoon for purposely dumping a bowl of pudding on Ron's head, Severus had replied "I am no one's father, Mr. Potter, least of all yours." The tone had been sharp, as usual for the older man, but Harry had seen that same underlying look in his eyes that he'd seen coupled with shock when Harry had told him he was gay. Harry still wasn't quite sure what that look meant.

Harry turned the corner of a hall he'd been walking down and made his way into the bathroom. When he opened the door, he saw the last thing he'd expected – Severus Snape sitting on the bathroom floor with a more than half empty bottle of fire whiskey in his hand.

"Hi Harry!" Severus said with what might be constituted as a giggle.

Harry stared. The man was drunk off his ass. "Professor?"

Severus' smile faded. "I'm drunk."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I can see that," he said, walking over to the older man and grabbing his arm. "Come on, let's get you back to your quarters."

Severus made no move to get himself off the floor. "I don't feel like it. I'm so damn tired of pretending to be someone I'm not! If I want to be drunk, then I'm going to be drunk!"

Harry knew that if the Headmistress saw him like this, Severus would be in a lot of trouble. He had to get him back to his quarters. "Severus, come on, you can be drunk in your quarters."

Severus looked startled. "What did you call me?"

Harry clenched his teeth. Damn his private thoughts and where they always seemed to get him. "Up, Professor," Harry said, ignoring the question and pulling harder.

To Harry's surprise, he found he could lift his professor, but the standing position only lasted a few moments, and then they were both on the ground, limbs tangled. And more to Harry's surprise, he felt a lump growing on his thigh where Severus' pelvis was resting.

Oh, how he knew he shouldn't. He couldn't. It was wrong. The man was drunk. The man was his teacher. Harry's conscious pleaded with him for only a few more seconds, until Harry leaned forward and pressed his lips to Severus' gently. Severus didn't pull back, so Harry slowly took his tongue and moved to push open Severus' mouth. Severus resisted for a few seconds, but as Harry wrapped his arms around Severus' waist he gave in, and kissed Harry back.

Severus woke up, very stiff, with a very bad headache. It took him a moment to realize he was lying on the floor his own cloak serving as a pillow of sorts. His thoughts drifted to Harry, and the dream...

"Morning," a voice said.

Severus' eyes shot open and his face turned to see Harry sitting on the floor a few feet away...in a bathroom. "Sweet Merlin, that wasn't a dream?" he muttered, sitting up slowly.

Harry tossed him a vial. "For the hangover," he said.

Severus downed the potion in one gulp, and moments later felt the headache begin to fade. He looked back at Harry, who was staring at him thoughtfully. "Harry?"

A smiled played on the younger man's lips. "Severus?"

A chill went down his spine, and it had nothing to do with the stone floor. "What happened last night?" he whispered.

Harry got up and walked the two steps over to Severus, offering a hand and helping him up. "What do you remember?"

Severus bit his lip, and tasted the truth. "Gods, did we?"

"Make out like teenagers?" Harry provided. "Yes."

Severus look at the ground. "Mr. Potter, I must..."

Harry glared. "Don't you dare apologize, Severus. You wanted it to happen, and I was sober and willing."

Severus looked up sharply. "Willing or not, Harry, it was wrong, and cannot happen again. What I want is unimportant in this instance. I am your teacher, damnit!"

Harry looked Severus in the eye. "Your feelings are important to me. And if you didn't feel something you would not have even been drunk last night. I think you've been hiding from your feelings for months."

Nail on the coffin, Severus thought. _Try years. _"You're missing my point, Harry."

Harry grinned. Severus didn't like it, not at all. It was bad, the dratted boy was up to something and Severus knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. "The only point of yours that I'm missing is the one between your legs," Harry whispered.

Severus' jaw fell. "Harry!" Sweet Merlin, he was getting hard now. He had to get out of here. "I'm leaving," he stated, hoping that his rushed departure did not look too much like running.

Harry watched silently as Severus more or less ran out of the bathroom. Part of Harry wanted to run after him, but his better judgment said to just let him go. Last night had been...incredible. They had kissed like no tomorrow for a good long hour, not saying much, until Severus had finally passed out drunk. Harry had desperately wanted to do more than kiss Severus, but knew he was walking on glass as it was, and refrained himself.

After Severus had passed out, Harry had stayed there, watching him. He'd thought about what had happened all night, and realized that however wrong the whole thing seemed, it was the most right thing Harry had ever experienced. Being that close to Severus had been like touching the missing part of himself, one that he had not noticed was missing until that night.

Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower now, which as the school was empty for the most part, there was no one there wondering where he'd been all night. Harry was grateful for that. To his surprise, there was a note waiting for him on his bed when he arrived, from Severus.

_Harry, _

_I'm not going to try and excuse what happened last night on the fact that I was drunk, because you're right, I did want it. But the fact of the matter is that you are my student, I am your teacher, and if anything between us was ever discovered, we would both be in trouble. It would be a scandal, at best. I cannot do this. Please just accept that and try to forget the whole thing._

Harry frowned. Severus had not even signed his name, though he might as well have as he made the point of the fact that he was Harry's teacher.

"Damn!" Harry swore, tears forming in his eyes. "Doesn't he get that I..."

Harry paused. Love had been the next word forming on his tongue, and that scared him. Harry carefully folded the note, and hid it in the bottom of his trunk. He realized now that he did love Severus, not just simply care, and not merely attracted. He knew well enough that Severus was not going to budge on the matter, so Harry resolved to wait. He would not see anyone else, and after he graduated, he would approach Severus again.

A month had passed since Christmas. Severus Snape was starting to feel less flustered when he thought about encountering Harry in class, and had manage to totally avoid him the rest of the time. He'd even taken to eating in his quarters for the most part, avoiding even the chance of making eye contact.

But not feeling flustered did not change the thoughts in his mind. Severus took a deep breath as Harry's class filed in, and repressed his desire to smile when he saw Harry enter the room. Damn, that boy was handsome.

Class began. Today he was discussing dementors. He was walking up and down the rows of class, lecturing on the effects and defenses concerning dementors. "An encounter with dementors gives one the feeling of all the happiness being sucked away from you," he was saying as he passed Harry's desk.

"Not like there aren't other things to suck all the happiness out of person," Harry muttered.

"Excuse me, Mr. Potter?" Severus snapped. "Would you like to say something to the class?"

Harry's jaw clenched as he looked up at Severus. "No."

"No, sir," Severus corrected.

"Fuck off," Harry hissed.

"Detention Mr. Pot..." Severus gulped, realizing what he'd just done. Giving Harry a detention was the worst possible thing he could do, but in front of a full class, a class which included the obnoxiously observant Miss Granger, it would be impossible to take back at this point. "My office at eight this evening Mr. Potter," he finished quietly.

The whole class stirred, obviously taking note of his faltering speech just then. He took a deep breath and continued his lecture, during which Harry did not say another word. Harry was the first to file out when class ended, and Severus found himself dreading that evening more than he had ever dreaded anything else.

Eight that evening rolled around far quicker than Severus would have liked. Part of the time was wasted in the shower for over an hour, Severus knew, during which his mind had not been able to wander away from how much he wished that he could give in to his personal desires.

Harry walked through the door, at exactly eight, closing the door behind him with a sharp click. "Severus," he said simply.

"I really wish you would refrain from calling me that," Severus said quietly, not bothering to move from his seating position on his desk chair.

Harry glared. "I'll call you whatever I want when we're alone, Severus Snape. Be grateful I'm refraining in public."

Severus stood then, storming over to the infuriating young man. "Why are you making this so hard?" he demanded.

Harry grabbed Severus' robes harshly, closing the gap between them and pressing their lips together. "Because I'm in love with you," he spoke into Severus' mouth. He let go then, and allowed Severus to stumble backwards a step.

Severus considered a million things in the next few moments of silence. Everything that could go wrong, everything that could be lost, and in the end decided to take the risks. Merlin be damned, he loved Harry too. Severus voiced his conclusion. "I don't know how we're going to keep this a bloody secret Harry," he said, slowly resealing the gap between them, "But I love you too."

Harry wasted no time pulling Severus to his lips again, and this time, for the first time, Severus did not hesitate to return the gesture. He just didn't care. He wrapped his arms around the younger man, and gasped as he felt Harry grab his ass. "Harry!"

Harry just grabbed harder, and it was then that Severus noticed that Harry had begun unbuttoning his robes with his free hand. "I'm not letting you go Severus, not this time," Harry whispered, moving his lips down the now exposed portioned of his torso.

And that was the last straw of restraint for Severus, and the older man began to claw and Harry's t-shirt,. Harry fell to his knees, allowing Severus to pull the shirt off easily, but in the same motion Harry's face began to nuzzle that which lay between his legs.

"Gods Harry," Severus whispered. "Keep that up and I'm going to fall over."

Harry paused and stood again, nudging his own arousal against Severus' thigh. "I guess we should find a bed to fall onto then," he said, biting at Severus' neck.

"Bedroom," Severus nodded, indicating a door to their left.

The two slowly made it to the bedroom, knocking into several walls and Severus' desk on the way. Harry hands had deftly unclasp all of Severus' buttons, and as the door clicked behind them.


	4. Chapter 4: Newlyweds

**Chapter Four: Newlyweds**

Harry woke up stiff, taking a moment to recall what had occurred last night. He'd gone to see Severus Snape about detention, and well...

"Severus," Harry said quietly, touching the older man's shoulder. "Wake up."

Severus groaned, eyes opening after a few rapid blinks. "Harry," he muttered. "Oh Merlin, it wasn't a dream."

Harry rolled over and laid on top of Severus' naked body. "Again with thinking it was a dream! No again," he replied with a grin. "How do you feel?"

Severus grunted. "Like a man who hasn't fucked that hard in many years. Like my age. Gods Harry, what was I thinking?"

Harry frowned. "Regret it?"

Severus slid his arms around Harry's waist and rested one hand on his ass. "No," he smiled. "Just thinking about the repercussions of it. Physically and otherwise."

Harry flexed his hand, and was surprised to see a tattoo of some kind adorning his left ring finger. "Um, Sev, what's this?"

Severus examined his hand for only a second before glancing at his own hand. "Sweet Merlin," he said.

"What?" Harry asked, perplexed as he noticed an identical tattoo on Severus' hand.

"We've bonded, magically," Severus whispered, voice somewhere between terror and awe.

Harry looked startled. "Bonded, as in married?"

Severus gulped. "It a rare, but not unheard of thing. Muggles call it 'finding your soul mate', finding a person you were destined to spend your life with. As wizards, the magic we possess recognizes when two people meant to be together have sex, and it automatically bonds them. Yes, I think we got married last night."

"Oh my god," Harry whispered. "Severus, what are we going to do?"

Severus smirked. "We can cast glamor charms to hide the rings, but a bond is a bond, and one formed like this is nearly impossible to break. In fact one of the major reasons that divorce is legal in the Wizarding world is so that if someone gets married, and later finds their true bond-mate in the instance of an affair, the soul-bond takes power over any other."

Harry looked solemn, but not displeased. "Any other side effects I should know about?"

"We are now bonded at the deepest level possible. Our very lives are linked. If something happened to you, an injury, I would feel it just as you did. If I died, you would as well. There's only one way to side step the total life link, but the general feeling each others pain will never be able to be removed." Severus blushed.

"And that is?" Harry demanded.

"Procreation," Severus said. "If we had a child, one of our deaths would not effect the other, because one parent needs to remain to care for the child. Or, if a third person entered into our marriage, that's nearly unheard of but does work to break the actual live bond."

Harry chuckled. "Well, let's just try not to get killed for a while then. I'm not quite ready to be a parent."

Severus looked carefully at his lover – no, bond mate. "Are you ready for marriage?"

Harry touched Severus' face. "I don't really see I have a choice in the matter at this point, but even if I could change it, I wouldn't. I love you Severus."

Severus pulled Harry down for a kiss. "I love you too Harry. And I'm not upset that we're married, not at all. This really proves to me that my feelings for you were not so wrong as I first thought. But, until you graduate, we do need to keep this a secret."

Harry nodded. "I know. I'm not sure how I'm going explain my detention lasting all night though."

Severus groaned. He hadn't even thought about that. "I'm sure you'll think of something. You always had a knack for getting out of trouble."

Harry laughed, and got up off the bed and began dressing. "I'll get down to breakfast first. The last thing we need is to come down to breakfast together, after a dozen other students know I had detention last night." He cast a glamor charm on his hand, as well as one on his neck where Severus had left several marks the night before. "Merlin Sev, what would we do without glamor charms?"

Severus stood, pulling a bathrobe on. "I'm sure we could be creative. In fact, I'm looking forward to being creative with you."

Harry blushed. "Shit Sev, I gotta go. Don't get me all worked up again."

Severus grinned, a true grin. "I owed you one."

Harry shook his head, and walked out, carefully checking to make sure no one saw him coming out of Severus' office door. He made it all the way to the Great Hall without a problem, and then he saw Ron and Hermione coming toward him. Ron was pointed his wand at Harry's neck.

"_Revealo!" _Ron said, grinning. Harry moved his hands to his neck in an attempt to hide the hickies there, and only a moment too late realized that he was holding his ring in plain sight, also exposed by Ron's charm. "Hey, Harry, when did you get the tattoo? I was looking for hickies, since I know you didn't spend the night in the dorm."

"Last night," Harry said, providing the truth, but hoping that his two best friends would assume that getting a tattoo was all he did last night.

Hermione grabbed his and, and examined in carefully. "Sweet Merlin, Harry," she whispered.

Harry groaned. Leave it to Hermione to know what a bonding tattoo looked like. He looked at her, eyes pleading to just drop it. Seconds later Ron was dragged off to talk Quidditch with a couple of their dorm mates, and Hermione dropped Harry's hand. "We'll talk about this later," Hermione said in her mom-tone. "I can tell you don't what Ron to know, and I can understand why, but I do want to know who _he_ is."

Harry's jaw fell. Oh no. "Hermione, let's go find somewhere to talk about this now," he pleaded.

Hermione nodded, and led Harry to an empty class room. "So," she said, as soon as the door closed. "Why don't you explain to me how Ron and I didn't know you were gay, didn't know you were interested in someone, and how you managed to soul bond."

Harry glared. "How do you know I didn't soul bond with a girl?"

"Because I read, Harry! The marks left from a soul bond are different. One type for gay, one for lesbian, one for straight, and one for trio bonding. You are clearly wearing the gay ring." Hermione paused. "So when did this happen?" she asked, pointing at the ring.

Harry looked at the floor. "I told you, last night." Harry said.

"Did you have detention last night with Sn..." Hermione broke off mid question, realization dawning on her. "You...and Snape?" she whispered.

Harry looked up, his Gryffindor courage coming into play. "Yes, Hermione. Severus. It started at the beginning the year, me realizing what I felt anyway, and then on Christmas I found him drunk off his ass in the bathroom, and we made out, and he confessed that he cared about me. Then, last night...well I'm sure you already know what two people have to be doing to bond like that."

Hermione found a chair, and sank into slowly. "Harry, what on earth were you thinking? Could you have at least waited until you graduated? The two of you would be in loads of trouble, mostly him, if this gets out."

"I was going to wait, but last night, it just happened, and it's not like I thought I was going to be hiding a marriage, just a lover," Harry tried to justify.

"Harry Snape..." Hermione mused. "Never would have expected that."

"Hey, who said it's not Severus Potter?" Harry demanded.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "In gay bondings the younger takes the name of the elder. Your official records will have already changed. If Madam Pomfrey looks at your file, she'll know you're married. Same goes for Professor McGonagall. I doubt any one else will bother looking at your file in the next few months."

The door the the classroom and Severus walked in. "Miss Granger, Mr. Potter, what are you two doing in here?" he inquired.

Hermione looked at Severus and rolled her eyes. "Don't you mean Mr. Snape, Professor?"

Severus looked startled, and looked at Harry. "I can't hide anything from her. She knows too much for her own good. She guessed, Sev."

Hermione coughed. "Sev?"

Severus glared. "It would be ill advised for you to call me that, Miss Granger."

Hermione shook her head. "Excuse me, but I didn't even know Harry was gay until a few minutes ago, not to mention married to his teacher. You're both going to have to give me some time to process."

"What do you intend to do with your knowledge of this?" Severus asked quietly, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist. Harry leaned into his mate, grateful for the support.

"Use it to help hide this!" Hermione snapped. "As the two of you are obviously unable to do alone."

"Hermione, we're not idiots," Harry glared.

"And that's why I figured it out the day after?"

"She has a point, Harry," Severus said. "We need all the help me can get."

Harry grinned. "Didn't this whole thing start with a point?"


	5. Chapter 5: Choices

**Chapter Five: Choices**

Two weeks passed without incident. Harry slept in his dorms, and Severus in his quarters. Both had objected strongly to this, but Hermione had asked "what brand of stupid would that be?", and the newlyweds were forced to agree that even if Harry's dormmates were let in on the secret, and agreed to not mention Harry's absance during the night, there was too much a risk that one of the other three boys would slip to someone else, and that someone else could go right to McGonagall, or even Rita Skeeter. God forbid the later.

So far as the bonding tattoos went, Ron was the only person who had seen it aside from Hermione, and so Harry told him that he'd been drunk when he got it, so he'd gone to Madam Pomfrey and had it removed. Both Severus and Harry continued to use glamor charms to hide the rings, though Severus has done some research and found a more powerful charm that would not be deactivated by a simple "revealo".

Harry tried not to look to anxious as Charms came near to the end. Potions was next. It would be the first chance he had to see Severus - his bond-mate - in two days. Harry had owed him this morning, however, to give Severus a heads up on his grand plan to give them some time together.

_Severus, _

_Today in Potions I'm going to do something that might make you mad, don't know what yet. Give me a damn detention, and we can spend some time together. Love, Harry_

Harry smiled, thinking about the close to that short note. Love, Harry. Harry had never had cause or desire to close a letter that way before. It was nice. Love, Harry. Flitwick dismissed the class, and Harry nearly jumped out of his chair and bounded towards the door. He was stopped, however, by Hermione's hand grabbing the neck of his robes.

"Slow down Harry," she hissed. "If you keep being this obvious, you'll blow it. You might get off with a slap on the wrist, but he could loose his job, and worse, his teaching permit."

"Who could loose what?" Ron asked, coming up behind them.

"Nothing!" Harry and Hermione both exclaimed.

Ron looked thoughtful. He glanced at Harry, and then back to Hermione. "You two are bloody hiding something from me," he accused in a monotone. He didn't look like he was going to loose his temper, but he was obviously upset about being excluded.

"It's none of your business Ron," Harry snapped, irritated that this conversation was wasting time he'd rather be spending in the dungeons.

"Oh?" Ron said, color now raising in his face. "But it's my girlfriend's business?"

Harry had just crossed a line. Indecision flooding into him about whether to risk exposing Severus and him by telling his friend the truth, or risk his friendship with Ron by refusing.

Harry came to no resolution regarding Ron, but rather had stormed off and let Hermione deal with it. He trusted her not to say anything, regardless of how mad it made her boyfriend. He still arrived in the dungeons well before anyone else. "Severus," he said, walking in the door.

"Careful, Harry. Another student could walk in any moment," Severus rebuked softly. His eyes were soft though, and Harry knew he was glad his mate had arrived early.

Harry walked to the front of the room, and sank into Severus' arms. "I miss you. I can't stand this."

Severus pulled away and held Harry at arms length. "I feel the same, but there's no help for it."

"What the bloody hell?" a voice exclaimed.

Harry winced, Ron must have followed him down. "Close the door behind you, Mr. Weasley," Severus hissed.

Ron did as he was told. "I'm not sure what to think at the moment, so before my mind goes in the wrong direction, how about you tell me what Hermione and you have been hiding from me. I'm guessing it has something to do with Snape. Please tell me you somehow found out Snape's your uncle or something of the sort."

Harry looked at Severus, who nodded. "Ron," Harry said, "Do you remember that night a few weeks ago I didn't come back to the dorms?"

Ron nodded.

"I was in Severus' quarters that night."

"Yea," Ron said. "You had detention."

"I was there all night, Ron."

Severus took Harry's hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

"You're snogging Snape?" Ron's jaw fell. "You're gay?"

"Yes."

To Harry's surprise, Ron got a goofy grin on his face. "Congratulations, Harry."

"What? You're not mad?"

Ron shook his head. "I always suspected you were gay, so I'm not really surprised about that. The Snape part, that's a little weird, but it's not like you went and eloped or...bloody hell."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, saying nothing.

"The tattoo. It was a soul bonding ring, wasn't it. You never had it removed, you're just hiding it with some charm."

"I'm impressed Mr. Weasley," Severus commented. "It wasn't much of a surprise that Miss Granger figured it out, but I didn't expect you to know about soul bonding rings."

Ron looked awkward, but still not upset. "My parents soul bonded during thier fifth year at Hogwarts. They had to hide it till they graduated, I'd just forgotten."

Harry nodded, and Ron turned a little green. "Harry," Ron said, "I am honestly happy for you, but I don't have a gay bone in my body and I have some very bad mental images in my head right now, of you and Snape shagging, so I'm just gunna go now and I'll see you later in the common room. We can talk more if you like. I don't really want details, but on the other hand I'd rather know what's going on than have you and my girlfriend keeping things from me."

"Thanks Ron, please don't tell anyone. Sev could get in alot of trouble if this got out before I graduate." Harry said.

"Sure," Ron said, even greener. "See you later, mate."

**Author's note: **As per requested, I've continued "Point of Love"...as I was thinking on how to develop this further, I had another bright idea for a HP fan fic, so I've decided to mesh together the two ideas, and I think it'll turn into a rather unique story. I'm telling you this now because in the next chapter, you will start to see the change of direction. I've reworked it a bit so I hope it doesn't seem too abrupt, but please R&R and let me know what you think as the story progresses. THANK YOU EVERYONE!


	6. Chapter 6: A Weekend Away

**Chapter Six: A Weekend Away**

It was Easter break, and Harry had decided that he wanted a break from Hogwarts. After a year of freedom to go where he wanted while Horcrux hunting, the castle boundaries almost seemed cramped. He and Severus were still debating on if Severus would retire at the end of the year, or if they'd go on living at Hogwarts. Harry wasn't sure if he could stay at Hogwarts and be happy about it. Mind, he loved Hogwarts, it was home, but he kind of had the urge to "move out" so to speak, to get his own place.

Harry had gotten in contact with a builder from Romania who specialized in rebuilding destroyed manors - which as it happened, Harry happened to have one of. Potter Manor was still in ruins from the night his parents died, and he fully intended on rebuilding it. He was going to spend the weekend with the builder, a wizard named Jarvis Aphin. Severus was not overly thrilled he'd be gone for the holiday, but had consented nonetheless.

Hermione Granger made her way down the halls toward Severus Snape's quarters. Harry was gone for the weekend, and as Ron had been asked to go home for the holiday to spend some time with his family, Hermione had worked it out with Severus that they could spend some time together, working on her senior Potions thesis. Hermione didn't really think she needed his help, but she had jumped on the chance to have some time with Severus. She's always admired him, and wanted to get to know him better. Especially since he was now married to her best friend.

In response to her knock, Severus answered his door and beckoned her inside. "Miss Granger," he said in acknowledgment, closing the door behind her.

"You really should call me Hermione," she said quietly.

"And why is that?" Severus asked.

_Because I want to be your friend_, she thought. "You are married to my best friend," was what she verbalized though.

"Very well...Hermione," Severus replied. "But you may still not call me 'Sev'."

"Is Severus alright?" Hermione inquired. "Outside of classes?"

"Outside of classes," Severus consented after a pause.

There was an awkward silence for several moments, until Severus spoke again. "So what is your thesis topic?"

Hermione pulled a notebook out of her bag, and took a seat in an arm chair by the fire. "I'm doing it on theories on what phoenix tears could be used for in potions."

Severus took an armchair opposite her, and Hermione could tell by the glint in his eye that she had his interest piqued. "Go on," he said.

"I realized that there are very few potions that call for phoenix tears, most likely because of how difficult it is to obtain them, but because the tears do have such good healing properties, I figured that there had to be other uses. I obviously can't test any of my ideas, because I don't have a stock of phoenix tears laying around, but you said in class at the beginning of the year that a good thesis was more about proving that your ability to come up with new ideas than actually proving your theory correct. I had been reading Dumbledore's papers on the uses of dragon blood that week and things just kind of spiraled from there," Hermione continued.

"End quote?" Severus said, and Hermione was surprised to hear not criticism, but rather jest in his tone.

Hermione smiled. "I can't help it sir. I don't see why I should reword what someone has already clearly explained."

To Hermione's astonishment, Severus actually chuckled. "You are a truly singular woman, Hermione. But that brain of yours aught to be put under a microscope."

It was late, and Hermione had just left his quarters. Severus has spend the last six hours talking with the girl about her thesis project, and potions in general, and they had even touched on his relationship with Harry. Hermione had been astoundingly easy to talk to, and Severus found himself mentally commending his bond-mate in his choice of friends.

Severus knew that in the course of his marriage to Harry, he'd have to be more social than he had been in years, and that the social circle would include a group of people who had rather recently been his students. And Merlin help him, mostly Gryffindors. After tonight, Severus found that he didn't mind so much, especially if that social circle included Hermione Granger on a regular enough basis.

She actually reminded him a good deal of a lover of his from years ago. Severus had met Emily the summer between his fifth and sixth years. At that point, Lily had pretty much pushed him away, and he was nursing a broken heart when he'd first seen her at the bus stop. Emily was a year older than him, and she attended school in America. She was visiting Europe for the summer to get more culturally exposed. It had been a summer fling so much as the romance was concerned, though they had continued writing letters over the next two years, up until Severus had taken the Dark Mark. He had discontinued contact with her at that point, for her protection. Like Hermione, there was no way in hell that Emily would have ever supported the Dark Lord's campaign.

Severus certainly didn't regret his bonding with Harry. Merlin save him, he was in love with the boy. But regardless, he found himself yearning to find out what had become of Emily. Despite the late hour, he got out a quill and parchment, and began to write.

_Emily, _

_I know it's been years since we last corusponded, and I'm sure that you've wondered over the years why I pushed you away. I wish I could say it was for some noble reason, but the truth is rather selfish. I was branded with the Dark Mark, and joined the Dark Lord's ranks as a Death Eater. I broke off contact as a means to protect you, because I feared what Voldemort would do to someone I cared for. If I'm totally honest, I just didn't want you to know what I'd become. I knew you'd never appove. I'm sorry._

_Very long story short, I ended up becoming a spy for the light, a spy for Dumbledore. As if my life wasn't already in enough danger working for Voldemort, try being a spy against him. I very nearly did loose my life in the final battle, but for some reason I'm still trying to figure out, Harry Potter deemed fit to save me. I should have died that night, but thanks to Harry's quick thinking and the innovation of Portkeys, I survived. _

_I've recently gotten to know one of Harry's friends, a girl by the name of Hermione, and I can't begin to tell you how much she reminds me of you. She's smart, witty, unfailingly kind, and even looks a bit like you. I've known the girl since she was elven - I teach at Hogwarts now - and I'm astounded I've never realized the commonality until now. I suppose that is partly due to the open mind that Harry keeps claiming I've aquired recently. I've known both Harry and Hermione since they were eleven, I actually went to school with Harry's parents, Hermione is Muggleborn, but they are both adults now and I find myself thinking higher of both of them each day._

_I'm not really sure why I'm writing you this letter, Emily. I guess I just wanted to know how life turned out for you. Did you ever marry, have children? What did you think when I cut you off? What do you do for a living? Have you forgiven me for what I did?_

_I think that's enough said. I hope to hear from you._

_Yours Truly, _

_Severus Snape_

Harry smiled as he sat town at the table at the Inn Sunday evening to look over the papers that Jarvis Alphin had given him that afternoon. Yesterday, they had made a trip to Gringots and got the blueprints to the original Potter Manor out of Harry's parents' vault, and then set to work deciding what to save, and what to redesign and add on. This morning, they had drawn up a rough sketch of what they'd decided, and gone to see various material suppliers, builders, as well as a legal adviser back at Gringots.

Harry wasn't normally into spending large amounts of money on one project, but this was the exception. His parents would have wanted Potter rebuilt, so Harry decided that doing so would be his first use of his parents' money. Up until now, he'd only touched his vault - the one James and Lily Potter has set up for his education soon after his birth.

Harry would be returning to Hogwarts in a few hours. He found that he had missed Severus in the two days he had been done. Of course he had, Severus was his bond-mate. Harry supposed that the only reason he'd never missed Severus before was because he always around him, with the exception of summers. That's the way it had been for the last nearly eight years. Now that they were together, the absence just seemed that more profound. If Harry was honest with himself, even the evil greasy git Severus Snape of his early years at Hogwarts had quite often crossed his mind during the summers. Harry had never given a rat's arse what anyone in the wizarding world, and in the muggle world, had ever thought of him, but from the time he set foot in the castle all those years ago, it had always bothered him that Severus Snape had seemed to dislike him. Now he knew why.


	7. Chapter 7: Connecting the Dots

**WARNING: This chapter has an M rating. For a reason. Read & Review, thank you everyone! **

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**Chapter Seven: Connecting The Dots**

Severus Snape nearly dropped his cup of tea when he heard a knock on the door. Harry wasn't due back for another half-hour, and expected to arrive through the Floo Network besides the point. Recovering from the surprise, he got up to see who was calling this late in the evening. It was exactly late, only seven, but proper wizarding protocol was that unless you were an old, dear friend, calling after four in the afternoon, unexpectedly, was rude.

As the door opened and he was preparing for his customary sneer, his face changed to total shock when he saw the woman before him. "Emily?" he croaked.

Before he could compose himself, Emily, for Emily it indeed was, had thrown her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Severus! Sweet Merlin, Severus, I came as soon as I got your letter!"

Severus just gaped at her for a moment after she released him. "Emily?" he asked again.

The pretty woman smiled. "Yes, you dunderhead."

She had certainly aged well, Severus thought. He half wondered if Hermione would age that well, but then drove his mind back to the woman standing in from of him, and found his manners. "Uh, come in, please."

She stepped in, and Severus closed the door. The took the armchairs by the fireplace. "I do forgive you," she said, breaking the ice. "Though I did find out some years ago you'd joined He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. After that, I stopped looking for info on you. I hurt too much. I'm beyond glad you turned back to the Light."

Severus remained silent.

"Russ?" Emily asked.

Severus shook his head. He hadn't been called 'Russ' since the last time he'd seen her. She'd been the only one to ever call him that. It was her nickname for him. "I'm sorry, Emily, I'm just still in shock that you're actually here. Writing that letter was a spur of the moment thing - and like writing a letter to a ghost. I never imagined I'd hear back form you, let alone that you'd turn up at my door a few days later."

"Life goes on, Russ, but I never forgot you, never stopped missing you," Emily whispered.

"So," Severus said, trying to move the conversation to a less awkward subject. "Fill me in. What have you made of your life? Did you marry?"

"Yes, I did. A muggle man. Allen Granger. Allen's brother, David, is married to my muggle sister, which is how Allen and I were introduced; their wedding. By the way, when you mentioned your friend Hermione looking like me, I thought it was funny because I have a niece by that name. I've not seen her much since she was little, as she goes to some boarding school for gifted youth."

"Is that so?" Severus said, an edge in his voice. "One moment please, Emily."

He stepped to the fireplace, and through some powder into the flames. "Hermione's rooms."

Hermione appeared before him in seconds. "Hermione, would you please step through for a minutes?" he asked.

"Absolutely, Severus," she replied. "Let me just go change. I just got back from the Forbidden Forest."

"And you'll tell me why you were there later," he glared.

"What's going on, Russ?" Emily asked when Hermione vanished.

"I think my Hermione is your niece," Severus said quietly. "Her surname is Granger, and she is muggleborn."

Emily didn't have a chance to respond, as Hermione popped through the fireplace and confirmed what Severus had already concluded. "Aunt Emily?"

"You're a witch?" they both gasped.*

"Sweet Merlin," Hermione said. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Emily frowned. "Your father has alot of explaining to do. I was told you were at a boarding school for gifted youth. He knows I'm a witch."

Severus saw Hermione's face go white. He got up and steadied her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just...need to sit," Hermione said.

Severus guided her over to his vacent armchair and sat her down. He stole a glance at Emily and saw her eyebrows raised. He knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that he fancied Hermione. Oh, awkward.

And to make matters more interesting, the fireplace roared to life again and out stepped Harry. Severus groaned inwardly.

"Hey Hermione, hey Sev," Harry said cheerfully "Missed you...hey, who are you? he asked, noticing Emily.

"I'm Emily Granger," Emily answered. "I'm an old...friend of Severus'."

"And my aunt," Hermione added, looking even sicker. Severus figured she'd just realized he used to be involved with her aunt.

"Always a pleasure to meet one of Severus' former lovers," Harry said stiffly.

"Former being the important word there, Harry," Severus said, defending himself. "The last time I saw her was about the time you were born."

"Sure," Harry said. "No problem. Hermione, how about we go and let these too finish catching up?"

Hermione nodded, and she and Harry made for the door. "Send me an owl sometime, Aunt Emily," Hermione said weakly.

Harry was less kind in his parting words. "Send me an Owl, Severus, when you feel like spending some time with your current lover."

* * *

Hermione Granger sipped her tea slowly. It was nearly time for bed, and she was pondering the weekend's events. Points: Severus Snape had called her a 'truly singular woman', as apposed to the usual 'insufferable know-it-all'; She and Severus had stayed up late into the night on Saturday, just talking, and he seemed to have enjoyed it; She had very much enjoyed the conversation; and what did that flutter in her stomach mean, anyway?

No answers coming to mind, Hermione banished her tea cup to the kitchens and crawled into bed. After briefly thinking about what Monday held in store, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

_Hermione was dressed in a short nightgown, and a cloak. She was walking toward the dungeons in her bare feet, the lamps going black as she passed each of them, until at last there was only one light left, illuminating the door to Severus Snape's quarters. She tried the door, and found it open. Stepping inside, she saw a bare chested Severus beckoning to her. _

_Hermione walked toward him, and he pulled her close to his body. There was a fire burning hotly in the room. 'Are you too warm?' Severus asked._

_In answer, Hermione shrugged off the cloak and watched the Potions Master take in her shapely form with a gentle smile. 'You want me.' Severus said. It was not a question._

_'Yes.' Hermione whispered. 'But do you want me?'_

_Severus didn't answer, but rather took his hand and touched her cheek, slowly letting his hand run down her jaw line, then her neck, then to her shoulder where he finally rested it on the strap to her gown. _

_'Yes?' he asked. This time it was a question. _

_'Yes.' Hermione consented. _

Hermione woke with a start. "What in the name of Merlin was that?" she shouted to her empty quarters. Hermione could feel wetness between her legs. "Get a grip girl, you have a boyfriend, and you are not a raging hormonal teenager."

She rebuked her dream self for thinking such things about the man who was out of bounds for so many reasons. "He's gay. He's married to your best friend. He used to fuck your aunt. You have a boyfriend. And not to mention, he's your damn teacher."

* * *

Harry sat silently in his down. He was mad at. Mad that an ex of Severus' seemed interested in getting back into his life. Mad that he'd spent the weekend away planning to build the home that would become his and Severus', only to come home to find Severus spending time with said ex. But mostly he was mad at himself for loosing his temper like that. He trusted Severus. There was nothing going on. He'd just been an idiot and jumped to conclusions. For all he knew, Emily-Aunt-Of-Hermione's-Granger probably was just catching up. If she was realted to Hermione, she couldn't be all that bad. Then again, that's what Dumbledore had thought of the Dursley's.

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* I kind of stole this line/moment from "The Little Mermaid II", where Ariel and Melody meet as mermaids for the first time and both gasp "You're a mermaid?"...Don't know why that came to mind when I was writing this, but it worked, so there you go. :)


	8. Chapter 8: Accidents Happen

**VERY short chapter, peeps. But this is such an important part of the story, I wanted it to stand on it's own. I may edit later and add in the funeral. YES, he is really dead. This was the surprise I mentioned to someone...somewhere. Hummm. Three more Chapters and an Epilogue remain. Sequel pending lots of final reviews and demands for such a thing. :-D Next chapter is called "The House that Harry Built. **

**THIS chapter, "Accidents Happen" is more or less the climax. I'm saying this because it's at this point that the characters are forced to change, to adapt to what their world is becoming. That my friends, it what a climax is supposed to be. **

**LAST point, before any of you ask - I killed him (you'll find out who in a sec!) because I like him too much to turn him into a jerk, but he had to die for the story to progress the way I want it to.**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

* Keep going!

* Almost!

* Okay, here you go!

**Chapter Eight: Accidents Happen**

Harry woke to find Hermione's tear stained face looking down at him. He sat up. "What wrong?"

"There's been... an ac-accident. At -at the Quidditch Pitch," she stuttered. "Ron..."

"Ron's been hurt?" Harry asked, jumping up. "How bad?"

"Harry, Hermione, I just heard!" Severus Snape rushed into the room.

Harry got a sinking feeling in his gut. It was the feeling he had when he found out his parents had been murdered. The feeling he got what he realized Voldemort was after him. The feeling he got when Sirius..."Where's Ron?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Dead," Hermione croaked.

Severus started explaining about Ron going out to the pitch early that morning to practice. Ron had done a rocket - a maneuver in which you fly upwards at an almost straight angle at a very high speed - and just about when he was about to reach maximum altitude, he suddenly fell off. A dozen students had seen the fall from on the grounds. A few had been close enough to hear Ron scream, but none of them had been near enough to do anything to save him.

Harry was only vaguely listening to this. His heart was thumping a million miles an hour. Ron. His best friend. Dead. Gone. Just like his parents. Just like Sirius. Just like Dumbledore, Remus and Tonks, and a dozen other in the War.

* * *

Hermione wanted to die. _Why now, why him?_ she wanted to know. Ron survived the War, but not a fall off a damn broom. _I swear, my children will never lay a finger on a broom,_ Hermione thought. _His children. Our children. _

Hermione felt a fresh batch of tears begin to roll down her cheeks. She was pregnant. With Ron's twins. She was two months along now, and had been planning on telling Ron about it the next Hogsmead weekend. Now he would never know. And she was left here alone to raise them.

She sure has hell wouldn't abort them. She's figure out a way to support herself and the babies. They were all she had left of the man she'd loved since she was elven years old.

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it," Harry stated as soon as he and Severus sat down by the Potion Master's fireplace. "Let's talk about...something else...anything else."

Severus knew the feeling. He hadn't want to talk about it when Lily died. After confessing to Dumbledore, he'd gone to a Muggle bar - the same bar he'd met Emily at two summers before. "I'm sorry about last night," he mumbled.

"It's okay," Harry said. "It really doesn't seem important anymore. I'm sorry too."

"She just showed up," Severus explained. "I haven't seen her in nineteen years."

"You don't owe me an explanation, Sev," Harry sighed. "I should have trusted you more. Not jumped to stupid conclusions. I just didn't know you had ever fancied girls, it kind of surprised me."

"You knew I fancied your mum," Severus countered, hoping dearly that bringing up that point wouldn't be too awkward for his bond-mate to think about.

"I know," Harry replied. "But you were never with her."

It wasn't a question, Severus recognized. Harry knew in his gut that Severus had never been intimate with Lily Evens Potter. Severus had nothing to prove in that regard. _Thank Merlin_.

"I've got to go check on 'Mione," Harry said, getting up. "Why don't you owl Emily; tell her what's happened. Hermione doesn't really have any girl-friends to help her through this, and if she ever needed a witch of an aunt, it's now."

Severus nodded. Harry walked over, kissed him gently on the lips, and then left.

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**EEK! Don't kill me! :)**


	9. Chapter 9: The House That Harry Built

**HI! Don't hurt me, sorry it took so long to update. Fanfic is my hobby, not my day-job. Also, I had a hell of time trying to figure out how to make an entire chapter on the two sentences that end this chapter. Then I had a lightbulb moment. And you'll see what it was in all of ten seconds when you start to read...go on, READ, READ, READ!(And review. :P)  
**

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**Chapter Nine: The House That Harry Built**

A month had passed since Ron's death. Right now, Harry was at Potter Manor, getting a few last minute things fixed up before the grand opening, when he would share his creation with Severus and Hermione.

Hermione seemed to be coping alright. Emily had been an amazing support - any feelings she had toward Severus seemed to have been put way on the back burner - out of respect for their loss, he supposed.

"Nice place, mate."

Harry spun on his heels and fell flat on his rear, facing the likeness of none other than Ron Weasley. "RON!"

Ron smiled, a ghost's smile. "I could just leave you, not without a goodbye. I've only got a few minutes, and then...well, I've gotta move on."

"How are you here?" Harry asked. He was thinking about Nearly-Headless-Nick, and how he'd once explained that at death, you had to choose to be a ghost forever, or to move on. How was Ron appearing like this if he wasn't going to stay as a ghost? "I thought you had to choose."

Ron shrugged. "I do. I did. The rules for being a ghost is that you have to be 'gone' for seventeen years, before you can actively exist as a ghost. It gives loved once time to move on, so to speak. That's why wizards come of age at seventeen. I always wondered about that."

"So, you're saying that in another seventeen years, you'll be back, as a ghost, forever?" Harry asked.

"Yup," Ron said. "I wish I could just stay now...for Hermione. I'm an idiot, Harry, I shouldn't have been pulling a stunt like that...if I'd known..."

"Known what?" Harry asked. He could tell my the sadness in Ron's voice that he wasn't talking about knowing he'd die.

"Harry, Hermione is pregnant. She didn't tell me...I found out because, well, I'm here. As a rule, if you die and choose to be a ghost, then you are gone-gone for those seventeen years before anyone sees you again. The only exception is if there was something in life that you should have known about, something that might change your choice of being a ghost or not," Ron explained.

"So because you know Hermione is going to have a baby, you're going to be a ghost so you can see your kid when it gets older? So your kid will know you?"

"Pretty much. And it's kids. She's bloody having twins," Ron said. "Apparently, almost the exact thing happened to Nick. His betrothed was with child. Professor McGonnagal is actually his great-great-granddaughter. With Moaning Myrtle, she didn't actually stay to haunt the kids that teased her, she stayed because she didn't know that the man she called her father wasn't actually her real father - Albus-bloody-Dumbledore was. Ever notice that he never did no near that bathroom? Bloody idiot never did claim Myrtle. All the ghosts that remain at Hogwarts are tied to a living person there. All ghosts only exist so long as there is a blood relative to attach to. Since McGonnagal had no kids, she's the last of her line, Nick will fade when she dies. Myrtle will fade when Alberforth dies, which wont be much longer, I reckon. Binns is still around because he had, like twelve kids when he was living, and they all had kids. There's still a bunch in his line. I doubt the Weasley line will ever end."

Harry sat silently taking in all this information. "You know your kids will be considered bastards, right?"

"Yeah, about that..." Ron said. "Harry, I know this is alot of ask, but I want you to claim them. Call them yours...you don't have to really marry her, because you can't actually, being with Severus and all, but I don't want my kids to think they're missing out on having a dad. Not like you did. I want...I want them to be happy."

"Sure Ron, but how will I talk Hermione into it?" Harry asked. "Or Severus?"

"I already talked to Hermione and Severus," Ron chuckled. "Your bond mate already knew I'd come back. He knows alot about ghosts, too. As for 'Mione...well, she agrees with me that the kids should have a dad. She's worried that you wont like living with her, but I told her that you'd have plenty of room - you'd hardly even notice her there."

"You told her about the Manor!" Harry exclaimed. He'd wanted it to be a surprise. He'd been planning on inviting Hermione to stay even before all this business about babies had come along. Harry knew without a doubt that Severus would be fine with it.

"No, I didn't blow it, mate,"Ron defended himself. "I just let her imagination guess. She knows you have money. She knows you own several manors, not even counting this one. I bet she figured you'd go back to Number Twelve."

Harry sighed. "Alright. You have my word."

"Thanks Harry," Ron said. "I am sorry; sorry I left you guys in this mess."

"It's okay Ron," Harry said. "Thanks for being my best mate, through all of it."

"I wouldn't change a thing," Ron smiled.

* * *

Hermione was hiding in the library. Her very favorite place. She needed to be alone right now, to think about what had happened a few hours before. Ron - Ron the Ghost, had appeared to her, and told her some very interesting things.

Seeing him had been terrifying, and yet amazing at the same time. And overall, a sad thing, to know he wasn't staying, to know that it would be seventeen years before she saw him again. He's told her to more or less marry Harry. To let Harry claim her children as his own. To live with Harry and Severus, who were evidently going to be just fine with that. And, Ron had said, at some point, she'd have to move on.

Well damn him. She didn't want to do any of those things, though once her pride was in check, she realized it was best for the children. Even the moving on bit, though she had no idea how on earth she'd explain any of it to anyone besides Harry and Severus.

* * *

Severus Snape had heard stories. Stories about the process of becoming a Ghost. However, this morning had been the first time he'd actually been witness to the beginning. As a rule, it was preferable _not_ to be a ghost. And as a rule, you only had about a minute to make the choice. People like Ron Weasley, however, had a month to consider, and chosen he had.

_"Snape..er...Severus."_

_Severus just about had a heart attack. There was Ron Weasley, white as snow, and transparent. A ghost._

_"Sweet Merlin, what the hell has possessed you to remain as a ghost, Weasley?" he'd asked in awe._

_"Hermione is pregnant, with my twins. I want my kids to know me. I wont leave them like James Potter left Harry," Ron replied quietly. _

_"I see," Severus had said. And he could understand. "Well, what can I do for you?"_

_"Allow Harry to claim my kids, for now. I want them to grow up being called bastards even less than I want them to grow up without me. At least this much, I can control." Ron answered._

_"Very well, I can handle that," Severus had consented, that very thought having already crossed his mind. Emily had let it slip a few days prior that Hermione was pregnant. Severus had already been thinking of suggesting to Harry and Hermione to opt for the very arrangement Ron was suggesting. "Anything else?"_

_"Nope. Just take care of them, both of them," Ron had shrugged. "Bloody hell, I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I am trusting you not only to be good to my best mate, but to be good to Hermione and my kids. I think I can trust you that much."_

_"I swear I will look after them, all of them," Severus promised. _

_"Good," Ron said. "Now all I have to do is talk to the other two. See ya in seventeen years, Snape."_

* * *

Harry held Hermione's hand in his right hand, and Severus' in his left. He felt the surge of magic has their wedding bands touched. "You two ready?"

"I don't know why you wont tell us where we are going, Harry," Severus whined. "I really don't want to get splinched."

"Oh, trust Harry," Hermione said.

"Yea, trust Harry." Harry echoed, laughing. One deep breath, and he side-along apperated them to the front door of Potter Manor.

Harry wished he'd though to rig a camera to take a picture of their expressions as he heard the two let out gasps. Hermione and Severus both knew where they were. Hermoine had been here, to Godric's Hallow, once before with Harry while out Horcrux hunting, and Severus came to Godroic's Hallow every Halloween to visit Lily's graveside.

"I had it rebuilt. This ground means something to all of us. Welcome home, guys," Harry said quietly.


	10. Chapter 10: Epilogue

**OKAY! This is the end of "Point of Love"...I had a couple more chapters planned out but I decided to crunch it into a short conclusion, mostly because the one chapter was to show how Harry and Severus decide to start their family, and that's explained in the Epilogue (which I already had half written by the time I had chapter three of this story done), and the other one I cut was to show how the Weasleys react to thinking that their son died and only weeks later find out that his girlfriend is pregnant by someone else...but I can't decide how I want them to react, if Hermione tells them the truth or not, etc, etc. So yea, long story short, here is the end to what started out as a oneshot. **

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Epilogue  
**

Harry looked up as the front door to Potter Manor opened, and four children entered, followed by Severus and Hermione. He'd had to work today, so the other two adults of the house had taken the kids to Paris for the afternoon. Saturdays were normally a chill out day for the family.

"Hey dad!" chorused the twins, Ronnie and Jillyn. They were Ron's children, but very few people knew about that. Not even the kids did. Harry, Hermione, and Severus had all agreed to wait until the twins were of age. Almost exactly a year from now. The twins had been born on September the first, seven months after the death of thier real father.

"Hi daddy!" the other two children said, crawling next to him on the couch. Twila was thirteen now, and in another week she'd be starting her third year, while her little brother, Brian, would be starting his first year at Hogwarts.

"Did you kids have fun?" Harry asked the group.

"Uncle Russ wanted to apparate us to the top of the Eifle Tower, but mum said no," Ronnie complained. Ronnie and Jillyn called Severus _Uncle Russ_. Hermione's aunt, Emily, was to blame for that one.

"Father wouldn't take us up without mum and the twins," Twila scowled. Harry held in a laugh. Twila was Severus all over again. While Hermione was 'mum' to all four of the kids, and Harry was 'dad' or 'daddy' to all of them, Severus had chosen to be called 'Father' by he and Harry's two, and 'Uncle Russ' by Hermione's twins. To the general population's knowlege, Harry was indeed the father of the twins. The twins looked more like Hermione than they did Ron, though they'd both been born with the Weasley red hair. Hermione had been mixing a hair dye potion into thier shampoo bottles since they'd gotten old enough to wash thier own hair. A color close to her own for Jillyn, and black like Harry's for Ronnie. They were not identical twins, so a difference in hair color was no big thing. The black hair for Ronnie made him look more like Harry. When the twins were told the truth, they would be free to stop using the dye and wear the red hair they'd gotten from the Weasley line.

"I missed you daddy," Brian said, crawling onto Harry's lap. "I wish you could have come."

When the twins were about two, it had been Severus who'd decided it was time to have a child of their own. Along came Twila, who was her Father's daughter through and through. When she was a year old, it was Harry who'd decided he wanted another, and in turn, Brain was daddy's boy. While Twila acted like a Snape and looked like a Potter, Brian acted like a Potter, but looked more like a Snape. They both had some of Hermione's features as well, since they both were a product of all three adults.

"Any mail from Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"Merlin's pants, Hermione," Severus said. "We just walked in the door. How about, 'Hello Harry'?"

Hermione blushed. For the last five months, Hermione had been secretly seeing a young professor at Hogwarts. She hesitated to be open with anyone, especially the children, about the relationship, because not only was he their professor, but she knew that the twins accepted that Harry was thier dad, and since she had Harry got on so well, they would probably see any realtionship outside of him as cheating. This really was the frist real relationship she'd been in since the twins had been born.

"On the kitchen table," Harry said. Harry shifted as Brain got off his lap, and he and Twila started to head of the stairs, probobly to the play room. Ronnie and Jillyn had already vanished.

Severus said down beside Harry has Hermione bounded off to the kitchen to read the letter from her beau. "I love you," Severus said.

Harry sighed. "I love you too."

* * *

**Last note: I do have some notion to do a sequel, so if you want one, let me know, and if you have any ideas, shoot them my way. Also, that is a wonderful opportunity to *cough* review the story in it's complete form. **

**Thank you ALL for the support as a wrote this, and now...*stares blankly at the HP fanfic do-do pile* **

**Off I go... Read and Review!  
**


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